Electrification has reached the pickup segments, with several manufacturers already offering light-duty tricks powered by electricity. That includes two of the Big Three U.S. manufacturers, Ford and General Motors. And Stellantis brand is also getting closer to a launch of the REV 1500 model.
The story is quite different in the HD-slash-Super Duty segments, and ditto for high-performance pickups; there, electrification appears still some ways off. Ford has no short-term electrification plans for its Super Duty range, nor for any of its Raptor variants. Designed for sporty off-road driving and equipped with high-performance engines, the F-150 Raptor and Ranger Raptor are not about to be electrified in any ways (meaning neither as hybrids or as all-electrics)
Australian outlet Carsales reported that electrification of the Raptor models will happen one day, but that day is still a long way off. Ford’s head of the International Markets Group Kay Hart said that “It's inevitable that at some point in the future there will be electrified offerings... but we're still thinking about what that means.” Take note that for Ford, an American automaker, when it comes to international markets, that doesn't include the U.S.
Models like the Ranger Raptor used to be offered only elsewhere, but that's no longer the case today. Hart said that Raptor models will continue to use gasoline engines, but ones that will be more efficient and refined; she did not share any kind of timeline on when electrified powertrains might enter the picture.
The likely scenario, eventually, might be a form of partial hybridization, with some all-electric range. But there are challenges to that approach. Justin Capicchiano, SVE (Special Vehicle Equipment) program manager at Ford Performance, spoke to Carsales regarding the drawbacks of a plug-in hybrid approach: “A simple PHEV model probably won't allow you to do what you want to do. You have to put that battery somewhere, and the logical position will be somewhere in the back, which will impact on your off-road capabilities.”
Performance trade-offs
Capicchiano made an important point about the vehicle's performance mission. Adding a hybrid system may well add performance when the electric motor is powered by the battery, but it also adds weight to the vehicle. And when the battery is depleted, the combustion engine must then compensate with a vehicle that is heavier than a non-hybrid version. The result is a drop in performance.
The electrified powertrain requiring the least amount of compromising is likely a traditional hybrid system, which wouldn’t add significant weight to the vehicle.
In any case, fans of the Ford F-150 Raptor and Ranger Raptor can rest assured that electrification is not in the cards for these variants.